Of all the resources available to your business, time is probably the one you feel like you never have enough of.
No matter whether you’re running a startup or an established business, there are steps you can take right now to save time and improve productivity.
Share these tips with your team to help everyone optimize their workflows and get the most out of each and every workday!
Do These Five Things To Get More Done in Less Time
1. Use Spike email app’s advanced search
Lots of people waste time in the workplace because they don’t know how to search in email efficiently, so they end up spending tons of time looking for old messages with important information or attachments.
The best way to avoid this time suck is to use an email app with an integrated advanced search feature, such as Spike.
Spike’s advanced email search feature allows you to search your entire inbox by keywords, subject, or person. You can then layer on additional filters, such as a person’s name, a tag, a keyword, or a file name, to narrow down your search.
If you’re looking for an attachment, you can even preview the file to make sure you’ve found the right one, so you don’t waste time opening an attachment only to discover it isn’t what you wanted to find.
Whether you need to find an old slide presentation to use as a template, refer to task instructions in an old email, or anything in between, Spike’s advanced search will let you find exactly what you need, when you need it.
2. Automate as much as you can
There are all kinds of routine business processes that can be automated to save you and your team time.
For example, things like payments, invoices, and other accounting tasks are a great place to start automating, since many of these are recurring. There are plenty of accounting and payroll software programs that can help you automate your financial tasks.
Other areas to look at automating are social media posts and other marketing tasks, such as sending out newsletters and other promotional email blasts. Look into different apps and tools for automating these types of tasks. Buffer and HubSpot are a couple good ones to check out.
3. Monotask instead of multitasking
While you may consider the ability to multitask a sign of productivity, the reality is that very few people multitask efficiently (only about 2% of people, according to Mashable).
When you multitask inefficiently, individual tasks actually tend to take longer and are more prone to errors, which take even more time to fix.
It might sound counterintuitive, but focusing on just one task at a time (monotasking) is actually one of the best ways to save your business valuable time.
This is especially true for the largest, most important tasks. Focus all your time and energy on these and see them through to completion before switching gears to anything else, whether it’s a big or small task.
In other words, if you’re putting together a big report for a client, don’t stop in the middle of it to check your email inbox.
4. Reduce the number of meetings you hold
Meetings are a great way to connect and collaborate, but many businesses fall into the trap of having way too many meetings, which ends up being counterproductive.
Think about it — if you and your colleagues are in six hours of meetings a day, that leaves you only two hours to get actual work done.
Considering the fact that the average person in the workplace spends three or more hours a day dealing with emails alone, it’s easy to completely run out of time for really important tasks if you have too many meetings.
Before you schedule any meeting, take a second to evaluate if it is truly necessary. Many meetings can be replaced by emails or group chats.
Whenever you do have a meeting, make sure to set clear goals for the meeting to ensure you’re getting the most out of the time.
5. Keep an up-to-date to-do list
To-do lists are such a simple thing, but they can save you so much time by keeping you organized and productive.
Experts suggest updating your to-do list in the morning or even the night before to make a plan for the following day and maximize the use of your time.
As you work through the individual tasks on your to-do list, make sure to check them off. Also, add any new action items that pop up from emails or meetings throughout the day.
For bonus points, use an app that has collaborative tasks and to-do lists (like Spike), so your whole team can refer to the same to-dos. This also helps hold everyone accountable and identify bottlenecks in your workflows to improve productivity.
Final Words
Unfortunately, there’s no way to manipulate time to give yourself more of it. But, you can manipulate the way you and your team work to maximize the time that you have and get more done. Follow the tips above to take back control of your workdays!
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